Scouting the Oppostion: Ole Miss Travels to College Station to Take on the Aggies

COLLEGE STATION — The Ole Miss Rebels (16-3, 3-3 SEC) look to cap off an undefeated week as they travel to College Station to take on the Texas A&M Aggies (12-7, 3-3 SEC). We’ve got all the information you need to understand who the Texas A&M Aggies are.

Ole Miss is coming off its 11th-straight home victory at the Pavilion Wednesday Night. With the win over the Arkansas Razorbacks, 77-51, the Rebels broke the record for longest home-winning streak in the history of the SJB Pavilion. The Rebels are now 3-3 in conference play and are in a 4-way tie for 7th in the league, looking to continue their momentum as they get set to play in College Station.

It’s no secret that head coach Chris Beard’s team has struggled on the road in conference play. The Rebels have lost each one of their road games so far, albeit, they did lose to two top 25 teams as well as a loss to LSU. However, in the games against Tennessee and Auburn, the Rebels lost by 26 and 23. Ole Miss is looking to turn its road woes around in what I believe to be a very winnable Quad 1 game in College Station.

The Aggies are playing game number two of their three-game homestand. They previously beat the Missouri Tigers on Tuesday night by a score of 63-57. Despite Missouri being last in the league, the Aggies really struggled with the Tigers at home, and they almost gave the game away very late in the second half. Just like Arkansas, the Aggies came into the season predicted to finish 2nd in the SEC Preseason Media Poll; however, things have not worked out like that for head coach Buzz Williams’ squad. The Aggies are currently 3-3 in conference play and are looking to get their season back on track. 

As Ole Miss travels to College Station to face an underperforming A&M team, I want to be the first to welcome you to another edition of “Scouting the Opposition,” the Texas A&M Edition.

Who are the Texas A&M Aggies?

The two-time SEC Coach of the Year, Buzz Williams, led the Aggies to the SEC Championship Game last season. Everyone was expecting this Aggies team to get better and be in the championship race this season. However, things have not worked out that way so far. But that being said, the Aggies have played a very difficult schedule so far this year, having participated in a total of 11 Q1 and Q2 games this season. A&M actually boasts a 5-6 record in their Q1 and Q2 games with victories over top teams like Kentucky, Iowa St, Ohio St., and SMU. Some of their losses include neutral-court losses to top teams like Houston and Florida Atlantic, as well as some away losses to Auburn and Arkansas. On a positive note, the Aggies do not have any bad losses in the non-conference. Below is a breakdown of their entire quad wins and losses: 

Q1: 4-4

Q2: 1-2

Q3: 2-1

Q4: 5-0

A&M, who currently is slated to be an 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament according to Joe Lundardi, shares four common opponents with the Rebels. A&M and Ole Miss have each played LSU, Auburn, Arkansas, and Memphis. The Aggies have gone 1-4 against these teams, having played LSU twice so far this season. Texas A&M won on the road in Baton Rouge; however, did lose their home game to the Tigers in the first game of SEC play. The Rebels, however, have gone 2-2 against their shared opponents. With a win over the Aggies tonight, the Rebels would gain a Quad 1 victory and a huge resume booster for the NCAA Tournament. As of Friday, Ole Miss is currently on the outside looking in as one of the teams in the First Four Out Category. 

Scouting the Aggies

The Texas A&M Aggies will go only as far as their star guard, Wade Taylor, takes them. The Aggies are led by the Preseason First Team All-SEC, Preseason SEC Player of the Year, and Preseason 2nd Team All-American. Taylor is nothing short of one of the best college basketball players in the country, currently averaging 20 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists per game. In his last four games alone, Wade is averaging 28 ppg, and that is including a 41-point outburst in an away loss against Arkansas and a 31-point home victory over Kentucky. His scoring average puts him in the 99th percentile among all players in the entire country. 

Taylor does not have one specific style of scoring; he can beat you off the dribble and score in the paint, he can score from the perimeter, and he can draw fouls with the best of the country. He is currently averaging 16 total shot attempts per game which puts him in the 99th percentile among all players in the country. His shot attempt make-up includes 8 attempts from 2 and 8 attempts from 3, so he is a very well-balanced offensive threat. He also loves to get to the line and draw fouls as well. He is currently averaging six free throw attempts per game which puts him the 98th percentile among all players. Simply put, Wade Taylor is one of the best scorers in the entire country and plays a lot of isolation basketball.

In addition to Taylor getting to the line, the rest of his team embodies his style of play. Texas A&M, as a team, is ranked in the top 35 nationally among free throw attempts per game. This team loves to slow the pace of play down and get to the free throw line. They do not get to the charity strike as much as Arkansas; however, this will be a very slow game for anyone who is watching. To add on to the pace of play, Texas A&M ranks second to last in the SEC for pace. They typically play a slow, methodical half-court offense and take the shot clock down to its final ticks. 

Wade Taylor’s effect on offense for the Aggies cannot be measured; however, he is also a factor on the defensive end. Taylor has some of the quickest hands in basketball and loves to steal. He is currently averaging 2.2 steals per game which puts him again in the 99th percentile among all players. His only statistical drawback is the amount of fouls drawn. Lately, Taylor has been getting into early foul trouble and has had to sit large portions of his team’s first half. Taylor has been averaging three fouls per game which makes him one of the worst in that category in the country in fouling opposing players.

Taylor’s offensive scoring power is not the only category that makes this Aggies team very dangerous, Texas A&M has the best offensive rebounding team in the entire country. The Aggies front court is led by star forward Henry Coleman, Andersson Garcia, Solomon Washington, and Wildens Leveque.

The Aggies do not have the tallest backcourt, as the tallest player is Leveque at 6-foot-10; however, Leveque only plays 12 minutes per game. The second-tallest player is only 6-foot-8. But the Aggie front court are masters at offensive rebounding. As the No. 1 offensive rebounding team in the country, Buzz Williams’ squad averages 19 offensive boards per game. This is an unreal stat and gives A&M an enormous amount of second-chance opportunities.

In comparison, Ole Miss only averages 10 offensive boards per game. The Aggies are also second in total rebounding with 44 per game. Garcia, Coleman, and Washington all rank in the 90th percentile in offensive rebounding among all players in the NCAA. 

The Aggies staggering offensive rebounding stats are due to two main factors: physicality and poor shooting. Washington, Coleman, and Garcia are not the tallest players in the world, but they are very physical on the glass. They put themselves in dangerous positions to tap the ball out to the perimeter or box out their opponent to put up a second-chance point. The Aggies lead the entire NCAA in second-chance points, as well as second-chance point percentage. 

The second reason is because of the Aggies poor shooting woes. Despite Taylor ,who averages 20 per game, the rest of the Texas A&M squad is not a good shooting team. The Aggies rank dead last or close to last in the SEC in every major statistical shooting category. They are last in field goal percentage, two-point field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage, and true shooting percentage. With Taylor not on the floor, it is really a struggle for the Aggies to score. Because of the Aggies shooting woes, A&M gets a lot of opportunities to rebound the basketball. A&M also takes a ton of three-pointers, 26 per game, and this leads to long offensive rebounds or easy tap outs for the big men. 

The leader of the Aggie front court and the main source of offense and rebounding in the paint is senior Henry Coleman. Coleman had been injured during the start of SEC play, and had actually come off the bench during the last two games. He started off the season very well; however, during his last 8 games, he has been only scoring 8 ppg, 6 rebounds per game, and only shooting 54% from the floor. If you compare that to his earlier numbers of 14 ppg, 9.1 rpg, and 67% shooting, Coleman has been slumping as of late. 

Despite his recent shooting troubles, Coleman does provide a secondary source for offense outside of Taylor and provides a sense of offense inside the paint. When Coleman is not on the floor, the Aggies typically pass the ball around the perimeter and try to find a driving lane. When Coleman is on the floor, the Aggies pass the ball to him on the low block and get some paint touches. 

The Aggies frontcourt is also very good defensively. Led by Coleman, Garcia, and Washington the Aggies are one of the best teams at limiting their opponents scoring in the paint. They rank first in the conference in opponent paint points per game and second in the conference in percentage of points in the paint and second-chance points in the paint. 

I think an impact player in the frontcourt for the Aggies could be Wildens Levesque. As stated previously, Levesques only plays 12 minutes per game; however, A&M brings him in when the opposing team has a lot of size. Against Missouri, Levesque was the primary defender against 7-foot-3 Connor Vanover. I think Buzz Williams will have the same game plan when Jamarion Sharp enters the game in the second rotation. 

Outside of Wade Taylor in the backcourt, Texas A&M does have another impact player in Tyrece Radford. Radford is the tertiary scorer for Buzz Williams’ squad, and he averages 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists per game. Radford, just like Taylor, is another player who loves to get his shots up during the game. He averages 13 field goals per game which puts him in the 93rd percentile among players. Radford and the rest of the Aggies, outside of Taylor, are very careful with the basketball. They do not turn the ball over a lot and lead the SEC in turnover percentage. 

Radford, being only 6-foot-two, and Wade Taylor, being 6-foot, love driving to the basket and scoring in the paint. While they do score a ton inside the painted area, they also get their shots blocked a great deal! The Aggies are one of the worst teams in the entire country in opponent blocks. They rank 360th in the nation in this category. This bodes really well for Ole Miss, who as we know, loves to block shots with Sharpe and Cisse. 

The guard pair is also not the best defensive guard unit in the conference. While A&M plays excellent defense inside the perimeter, outside the three-point arc is not their bread and butter. A&M gives up 25 three-point attempts per game, and that is mainly due to poor on-ball defense by Taylor and Radford. Teams are shooting 34% against the Aggies from behind the arc. Ole Miss will get open looks tonight; but the question is, will they knock them down. Ole Miss all season has shot the three ball very efficiently; however, on the road in SEC play, they have not shot the three well at all. The key for the Rebels will be to knock down as many threes against these smaller guards.

Ole Miss enters College Station with an opportunity to earn a big win over the Aggies. Texas A&M will make this game a battle; however, if the Rebels can continue to do the f0llowing, Chris Beard’s squad has a massive opportunity to leave College Station with a big Quad 1 victory. 

1. Block Shots
2. Shoot Well from Behind the Arc
3. Limit A&M on the Offensive Glass
4. Limit Wade Taylor

Game Info:

You can catch your Ole Miss Rebels tonight on the SEC Network at 7:30 CT as they travel to College Station to take on the Texas A&M Aggies in Reed Arena.